Pubdate: Mon, 08 May 2017
Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 Sun Media
Contact: http://www.thewhig.com/letters
Website: http://www.thewhig.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224
Author: Larry Comeau
Page: A4

PLAN TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA FLAWED

As Canada joins Uruguay as the only two countries to legalize
marijuana, our country is about to see wholesale changes, the most
obvious being the degradation of our cities.

Anyone who has visited Amsterdam or Seattle can attest to this fact.
Colorado and Washington states found with legalization came 'black
market sales' by organized crime, thus allowing young people to buy
it.

Legalization takes away the negative stigma and both states found more
use by young people. Yet, the Trudeau government is falsely claiming
legalization of this drug is the best way to keep organized crime out
of the black market and its sales to our kids. Funny enough, organized
crime has likely been supplying some medical marijuana on the black
market in Canada.

By allowing purchase of the drug at 18, the Trudeau government is
ignoring numerous studies by the U.K., the American Surgeon General
and our own Canadian Medical Association that young people using
marijuana run a greatly increased risk of suffering psychosis and
other mental issues later in life. As marijuana contains 85
cannabinoids, with little information available on the effects on the
human body, we are going down a dangerous road. Why the Trudeau
government has made marijuana legalization its top priority, rather
than tackling the crises of opioid deaths across Canada also raises
serious questions.

Colorado warned the Trudeau government that legalizing marijuana was
the easy part, everything that follows, i.e., entrance of organized
crime, increased impaired drivers and deaths on highways, keeping the
drug away from young people and negative impact on healthcare
services, are much more difficult to deal with.

After many years of negative advertising to dissuade young people from
smoking cigarettes is finally having positive effects, it seems
nonsensical to add what may be a much more dangerous drug to the market!

Larry Comeau

Ottawa
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MAP posted-by: Matt